BRIEFCASE APARTMENT RENT IN BAY AREA FALLING.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

SAN FRANCISCO - Apartment rents remain in a holding pattern in most major Western markets except California, where the contrasting fortunes of the state's northern and southern regions continue to push rates in opposite directions, according to a real estate survey released Monday.

Pressured by a long run of layoffs in high-tech industries, San Francisco Bay Area apartment rents during the three months ended June 30 fell for the sixth-consecutive quarter, according to RealFacts, a Novato- based research firm.

Although apartment rents in the San Francisco metropolitan area remain the West's highest, the average June 30 rate of $1,653 is 19 percent below its December 2000 peak of $2,036, RealFacts said. The June rent represents a 14 percent decrease from a year ago.

Meanwhile, Southern California rents continued to climb, reflecting the region's healthier economy, experts said. While unemployment has climbed higher throughout the state, the job losses haven't been as dramatic in Southern California as in the Bay Area.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties emerged as the West's strongest rental market with an average second-quarter rent of $857, a 6 percent increase from the same time last year.

In San Diego, the average rent rose 5 percent to $1,112. Average rents went up 4 percent in Los Angeles to an average of $1,248 while Orange County's rents edged up 2 percent to $1,215.

Riordan named to Altrio's board

Altrio Communications Inc. announced Monday that former Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan has been elected to the company's board of directors.

Altrio provides bundled home-communications services - including television and video-on-demand, high-speed Internet and local and long- distance telephone - via a fiber-optic network it is building in greater Los Angeles.

MGM Networks to enter Greece

SANTA MONICA - MGM Networks has entered into an agreement with Multichoice Hellas' NOVA, the first digital-satellite platform in Greece, to launch a round-the-clock channel in that country, MGM officials announced Monday.

The MGM-branded channel will be customized for the market to include Greek subtitles, said Bruce Tuchman, executive vice president of MGM Networks, a unit of Santa Monica-based Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

The expansion of MGM Networks into Europe began earlier this year with channel launches in Portugal, Russia and Malta, Tuchman said.

Boeing network deal announced

IRVINE - A transaction announced Monday gives The Boeing Co. an equity stake in Panthesis Inc. and provides Panthesis with an exclusive right to commercialize Boeing's small worldwide area networking technology, called SWAN.

SWAN technology was originally developed by Boeing to allow geographically dispersed people to conduct real-time collaborative meetings and engineer design reviews.

AMC won't make officers pay debt

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - AMC Entertainment Inc. announced Monday that it paid $19.7 million to forgive loans to two officers and lost more money last quarter than analysts had expected. AMC shares fell 21 percent on the news.

The loans were made in 1998 to the chief executive, Peter Brown, and the chief operating officer, Phil Singleton, so they could buy AMC shares in a secondary offering. The loans are being forgiven because Brown and Singleton guided the company through tough times, Chief Financial Officer Craig Ramsey said.

Kmart continues on losing streak

TROY, Mich. - Kmart Corp.'s losses increased in June, with a net loss of $137 million, according to the discount retailer's monthly operating statement.

Kmart's loss includes $12 million attributable to restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy law.